Goat Cheese Quiche

Coco's been at it again, whisking up a Quiche au Chevre that I used to make often in France, but had sort of forgotten back here in California. But with all the wonderful local cheeses, you can't go wrong. And just because that wasn't challenging enough, she roasted fresh beets for a salad with walnuts, walnut oil, and champagne vinegar. Is there anything she can't do?

Ingredients
1 prepared refrigerated pie crust
3 oz diced prosciutto
1 cup heavy cream
4 eggs
1 tbsp flour
4 oz fresh goat cheese
2 zucchini
parsley, chives, finely chopped
salt, pepper, nutmeg
butter

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Butter the tart pan and place the crust in the pan, prick the crust bottom with a fork. Keep cold. Wash the zucchini, cut in quarters lengthwise, then thinly slice. Beat the eggs, then add the cream, flour, salt and pepper to taste, and a pinch of nutmeg. Break up the goat cheese with a fork and incorporate, then add the zucchini and diced prosciutto. Fill the pie crust, sprinkle with parsley and chives. Bake for 30 minutes, or until set and golden brown.

Perfectly Natural Vanilla Ice Cream

Everyone in this household is a purist; when it comes to ice cream, vanilla always wins the day. This is the most delectable homemade ice cream we've ever churned out. And I love that it has no processed sugar!

Ingredients
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp arrowroot
3 cups heavy cream, not ultrapasturized

Directions
Beat egg yolks and blend in remaining ingredients. Pour into your ice cream maker and process according to instructions. For ease of serving, transfer ice cream to a shallow plastic container, cover and store in the freezer (duh).

Okay, I just have to make a plug here for Michael Rechiutti's Extra Bitter Chocolate sauce (kinda blows the sugar thing)... but fresh berries in season are nice, too.

Spinach-Cheddar Casserole

This is the only way I can get my kids to actually enjoy spinach (they usually eat it grudgingly); they ask for seconds or thirds of this dish every time! It's a fabulous brunch item for grownups, too.

Ingredients
4 eggs
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
16 oz container cottage cheese
1 cup packed grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or 1 tbsp dried dillweed

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Butter 8x8x2-inch glass baking dish. Beat eggs, salt, and pepper to blend in a large bowl. Mix in spinach. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well blended. Transfer mixture to prepared dish. Bake casserole until center is firm and top is golden, about 45 minutes.

Sweet-n-Sour Sauce

I've been asked for this recipe (ancient Chinese secret) so many dozen times, I'm embarrassed to reveal how simple and pedestrian it really is...

Ingredients
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup rice vinegar (red wine vinegar works as well)
1/3 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground ginger

Directions
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Pour over your favorite cooked stir-fry ingredients (for the kids I usually use chicken, bok choy or broccoli, red and yellow bell peppers, thinly sliced carrots, and water chestnuts) over medium high heat and stir until thickened and bubbly.

Heavenly Granola

This is the best granola I've ever tasted (it has an even texture with no clumps), and the kitchen staff at Bishop's Ranch in Healdsburg were gracious enough to share it with me. Amen!

Ingredients
6 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup wheat germ
2/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup sesame seeds
2/3 cup roughly chopped almonds
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup light vegetable oil
1/2 tsp almond or vanilla extract (optional)
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup chopped dried apricots
1/3 cup dried cranberries or cherries

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Place the oats, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and almonds in a large bowl; mix to combine. Transfer to a very large baking pan. Place the honey and oil (and extract) in a saucepan and heat until well mixed and viscous. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir until honey mixture is evenly incorporated. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes (and more frequently at the end of baking) for 45 minutes to an hour. Remove when golden brown. Add dried fruit. Stir every 5 minutes as it cools to prevent clumping. Store in airtight container. Great over plain yogurt!

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

This recipe is one of our family favorites from a book called The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces by Diane Seed, given to me almost twenty years ago by one of my best friends, Laura.

Ingredients
1 lb spaghetti
5 eggs
4 oz heavy cream
salt and black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
7 oz streaky bacon
4 oz freshly grated Parmesan and pecorino romano, preferably half and half

Preparation
Beat the eggs and cream together with a pinch of salt*. Heat the oil and butter in a large pan. Add the diced bacon and cook gently until the fat becomes transparent. Cook the spaghetti, following packet directions carefully to avoid over-cooking. Drain the pasta and add it to the large bacon pan. Stir well. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the beaten eggs and cream and a small quantity of the cheese. The eggs will coagulate as they come into contact with the hot pasta so it is very important to work quickly. Stir until each strand of pasta is coated with a thick yellow cream. Now stir in the rest of the cheese and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve at once.

*Cook's note: Make sure to let your eggs and cream stand at room temperature for a couple of hours before making this dish, otherwise your pasta dish will be cold. (I learned this the hard way...)

7-Layer Cookie Bars

Seven ingredients, technically...

1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
1 c. chocolate chips
1 c. butterscotch chips
1 c. coconut
1 c. chopped nuts

Melt 1/2 cup butter in a 9"x13" pan. Layer ingredients in this order: crumbs, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, and nuts. Pour 1 can sweetened condensed milk over layers. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Cut and remove while warm.

These will disappear faster than you can say "they're done!"
-- better make a double batch!